So I went out and got that cpu fan today. I don't know what the heck was wrong with me but I had a hell of a time getting the heatsink brackets connected to the risers. If I screwed in one, even just a thread or two, the other 3 wouldn't even come close to the risers. Had to loosen the nuts on the rear plate to give the risers some room. It took me so long the damn thermal paste almost dried by the time I finally got it secured!

I have an exhaust fan at the top and also one at the back so I was unsure if I should set the cpu fan orientation to be pushing up or pushing to the back. If I push up I'd be pulling in the GPU heat, so I ended up setting it up to push air out the back.

Also, Xenomorph, you were right about the PSU orientation. The way I had it was making my cords further away from the holes to hide them in. Plus I had the PSU exhaust just blowing up hot air on everything. Made more sense to flip it, push exhaust out of the vents underneath it, thereby generating a bit of negative pressure in the case to help bring more cold air in through the intakes. I didn't know any of this stuff until today, so it turned out that I learned quite a bit from all of this.

I had way too much dust in there, and my intake fan especially was completely choked! If I'd known it was this bad I would have definitely cleaned it out sooner:

I saved most of the dust so I could take a pic of the grand total hehe:

And now that its all cleaned up:

Still some ugly cords hanging around but it definitely looks a lot better than before. And MUCH more quiet!

When I went to the computer store, one of the employees asked if there's anything I'd like help with, so I told them I'm looking for the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. She had no idea what I was talking about, and neither did 2 of her coworkers. So I said its a CPU fan, and asked if they could show me where they keep them in the store...so she brought me to the power supply aisle, pointed at a row of power supplies and said "This is our selection of CPU coolers"

Wow, been a while since I last saw a post in here, good to see its still going!

@Agent, oh god that's a lot of dust! Not even my brothers pc had that much when I tried to fix his fan issues (turns out he only had an exhaust fan, and that's it).

And that last bit about you computer store was scary! Are you sure you weren't in one of Xeno's nightmares?

So, since the last time I posted, there's been a bit of work done, replaced all fans with Corsair White LED ones, except the top one, threaded the screws holding the top of my case in place, when trying to fix a faulty fan. Found out that 230x200x25mm fans are non-existant, meaning the top fan can not be replaced. Which is leading me to do this:

And break my case mod virginity by removing the bottom HDD cage, replace all existing fans, carry over my 140mm Corsair fan for exhaust, mount a 230mm fan on the side panel. And give my brother my old case which will be a massive improvement despite the faulty top fan.

Its gonna be expensive, but I will finally have a PC with good cable management, plenty of unblocked airflow, and no dodgily mounted fans in my 5.25" bays.

@ Agent: Yup, it was time for a big clean out hehe, nice solid wall of dust lol The EVO is a pretty decent bang for the buck CPU cooler indeed, alot more silent as well because of the bigger fan as you noticed.They can be a pain in the rear to install tho, thats why i also install them while the MOBO is still outside of the case ;)

Fyi: the big fan on the PSU blows INTO the PSU to cool the stuff inside, and the hot air comes out the back where the power plug goes.

Not saying you should ddo the following right away tho, but next time you clean it out, take out the PSU and blow some air trough it.I'd recommend to do that outside of the house tho, you will know why when the moment is there hehe.

About that shop you went to, i woulden't recommend going the for tech advise anymore from now on lol.From the answere they gave you i can tell they have never done anything else but rip people off by selling them a whole new pc when they turn one in for repairs lol.

@ Amgers:

If you are going to spend that much money on a case then you might as well go for the white version of the case i got tbh:

CM Storm Striker (window is stock)

Why? because 4 smaller fans in the sidepanel will be very noisy.Also they wont be dust filtered so basicly its like sticking a vacume cleaner on the side that will suck in dus like crazy.Other alternatives for good midtowers are:

CM scout 2 advanced (Missmorph's case)

Corsair C90 (Hemi's case)

Corsair Carbide Air 540

That last one is a nice one where all the stuff you dont want to see is in the back half of the case.It comes with a window stock as well.

Mind you, i picked the white versions of the cases above, they come in other colors to.

For the reccord, if you need answeres to question on any of the above just contact me on steam.Better to ask around first than to buy and regret afterwards when you could have something better for the same money.

Thanks for the tips Xenomorph. Man you REALLY know your stuff! Dead serious - if you aren't already working as a PC hardware technician I really think you could be very successful if you opened up your own shop or something, doing custom repairs, custom builds and so forth. And moreover, I can tell you're passionate about it, and that's something very few people have.

Regarding the computer store I went to hehe...it was Tiger Direct. I'm not sure if they have them in Holland, but here in Canada they are one of the largest bricks and mortar chain stores, if not the largest...which is exactly why that happened. They will hire just about anyone. I wasn't upset about it though, I could tell she was embarassed when I bluntly pointed out that those were power supplies.

Close by there is a small NCIX store where I bought my case, mobo, cpu, psu, and gpu. Everyone there knows what they are doing for the most part, but I wasn't sure if they'd be open on a Sunday and they have a very limited selection.

I'm a little worried now that I know the psu fan is an intake(when googling, SO MANY forums were saying its an exhaust fan!!!)...that means its probably been vacuuming in a significant amount of dust, and being fan-side-up it probably gathered a bunch of settling dust once I turned the machine off. Yikes!

Amgers that case looks somewhat similar to mine, but probably that would be better quality. I wish I could offer some kind of helpful advice but I'm only a beginner at this kind of stuff. Look forward to seeing an update!!

----------------The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up ... His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way. -Nikola Tesla

@ Agent: I wouldent worry about the PSU intake / fan thing to much tho, they don't get that hot really.Yes, there will be dust in it but not insanely much since you could see the front air filter did it's job keeping most of it out.

I assume the bottom of your case has a air filter to looking at the size of it.

Thanks for the suggestions Xeno. Not a fan of white cases, I like the black, but with white LEDs. (plus, I can't change it too radically, since my parents are exactly 100% privy to the entire list of changes my PC has gone through)

I had looked at the stryker and corsair cases, and may still change my mind, I'll just have to wait and see what I decide on when it comes to getting the parts in a few weeks time.

Though it's worth noting that I plan on putting a 230mm fan in the side (I know it says 200mm, but 230mm fits just fine), rather than 4 smaller fans. I'm aiming to have maximum flow with minimal noise, through using 3 230mm fans, and the 140mm exhaust fan (currently in my V9). The point about the lack of filters on the side did concern me, however I know a few people with this case that 'haven't had any issues with it, even with 4 smaller fans, as there's a form of filter manufactured into the panel.

None the less, what ever I decide on doing, I will be posting pics of the build and the finished product. Hopefully with some fairly decent cable management for once

@ Amgers: if money is a thing but you still want a nice clean looking case with the most optimal airflow possible, then the Corsair Carbide Air 540 is pretty much a no brainer m8.

I took another look at the predator x case you pointed out earlier and had a flashback to Hemi's case sidepanel, and the "airflow" that it allowed.The problem was that there was to much "closed" area in the plexi so not alot of air got trough really.Also the fans made more noise than they should because they same thing happens as when you plug up a vacuumcleaner and the motor revs up and gets louder.

Then, if you look at the predator x sidepanel, and where the 200mm fan would go:

There's not much left to let air go trough is there? 50% if you are lucky?There's ALOT of closed area which will result in the same problems for sure.That with the fact it has only that 200mm fan option in the front left, doesnt leave much freedom left if you want to change colors over time, like i did when i went from red to white.I was so glad i went for a 120 / 140mm fans case since those come in any color you want.

Ind the end it's your call tho, but i'd hate to see you buy something you will regret.

Give your choice some time like you said and you will do the right thing :)

Ok, so I've done a bit of asking around on the internet, and you're right about the side panel, it's very restrictive, also, the front is restrictive too, which has pushed me to change case focus. So now, I'm most leaning towards a Corsair Carbide 500R. The side fan is meshed, so is the top, and moveable HDD cages.

Or I may go for the Graphite 730T, though I'd lose the side fan placement and the top has no filters (not too bad since I'd use them for exhaust), I'd gain the use of the bottom fan slot (my carpet would block most without a decent set off feet), plus the side panel would close easier with my cpu cooler.